I Won't Say I'm in Love
by Queen Esther of Persia
Summary: Based on the song in Hercules. Deryn is still denying her feelings for a certain prince.


Yes, this song was used so many times in FanFiction. But whoever wrote this song is a GENIUS. That, and I've always wanted to write a Dalek FanFic, so here it is.

Disclaimer: Me not Scott Westerfeld.

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Deryn has terrible judgement. Rotten, even. If there was a prize for it, she would've won it. Ever since the daft Prince Alek came on board the _Leviathan_, she thought that he's just an average boy who is somewhat cute but also very aggravating. But since then, strange things have been happening to her. There would be butterflies in her stomach when he simply passes by, and she'd feel like she's on Cloud 9 when either he's smiling at her or talking to her. But worse, Deryn's thoughts were always surrounding the prince, like Huxleys in her mind with no intention of landing.

She sat here in her room on the _Leviathan_, with Bovril on her shoulder. It was evening now, the stars shining brightly outside her window. The stars reminded her of the way a certain boy's eyes twinkled...

_"Stop thinking about him!"_ she mentally slapped herself. _"Stop, stop, stop! He's not worth the aggravation, Deryn! You're a soldier, not some daft town girl! Being in love is ancient history. Been there, done that-"_

Bovril interrupted her thoughts by blurting out, "Who are you kidding? He's the earth and heaven to you." Deryn stared at the beastie, wondering why it suddenly blurted that out. But Bovril continued talking, this time in a sing-song tone, "Keep it hidden, but we can see right through you. No concealing, Mr. Sharp, because you are thinking of Prince Alek!"

Bovril smiled at himself, while Deryn kept on staring at it. "Th-that's not true," Deryn said, feeling slightly awkward at talking to a beastie. "There's no chance. There's no way it's possible."

The beastie chuckled and said in the same tone, "You swoon, you sigh. Why deny it?"

"Blisters," Deryn swore. "I am not in love, alright? It's too barking cliché."

"Love," Bovril repeated. "Barking cliché."

Deryn heard a hard knock on the door. She stood up, Bovril jumping of her shoulder, and opened the door. It was Newkirk. "Count Volger's looking for you. He said he needs to discuss something with you," he said, then sighed. "I don't understand why he doesn't just use the message lizard."

"He's a Clanker," Deryn said, rushing out of the room. "Deal with it."

She walked down the hallways, more thoughts flying through her head. Deryn's been afraid to fall in love, after the pain of losing Da. If she would actually be in love with a boy, the pain would be ten times worse if she ever lost him. And as she mentioned before, she's a soldier. Not some daft town girl who would faint when a heart-throb passes by.

Deryn knocked on Count Volger's door, and it opened to Alek storming angrily out of the room. He didn't even bother to say "Hi" to her as she was outside, or recognize her presence by smiling or-

_"Get a grip, Deryn!"_ her head screamed. _"Don't cry your heart out about something like that!"_

Volger stared after Alek, then turned to Deryn. "Your face is red," he said bluntly.

"What was that about?" Deryn asked.

"It's none of your business," Volger automatically replied, making Deryn raise an eyebrow. "Come inside, Mr. Sharp," he said, opening the door and letting her in first. "What we will discuss is quite important."

Deryn sat down near the coffee table, but instead of coffee on it, there was tea. "Feel free to drink some," said Volger, sitting down and picking up a tea cup. Deryn picked up hers and took a sip.

Then Volger went straight to the point. "You're denying yourself a lot," he said.

Deryn had a spit-take. "Wha-what are you talking about?" she stammered, wiping the tea off her mouth using her sleeve.

"I'm not buying it." Volger crossed his arms over his chest, a prideful look on his face. "You look as if you hit the ceiling. Face it, will you? You're in love with the prince, and you've got it bad." He paused a bit, then added, "It's really obvious since you've been getting quite screechy about him, and you always blush when he passes by."

Deryn remained silent, regarding the tea cup with interest. After a while, she pulled her hair in frustration and said, "I'm not in love! Why is everybody getting the wrong barking idea?" She stormed out of the room, leaving a smirking Volger in her wake.

_"It's not true!"_ she thought angrily. _"There's no chance! No way!"_ Deryn was so engrossed in her thoughts that she suddenly bumped into someone. "Ah! Sorry-" She was cut short because she bumped into none other than the one surrounding her thoughts, Prince Aleksandar of Hohenberg.

"Deryn?" said Alek

"Alek?" said Deryn.

"I thought you would be in your cabin," Alek muttered. "Newkirk said you went to Count Volger's cabin. You must've been that person I passed by a while ago. Sorry for how I was acting. It's just that Count Volger told me something really weird."

Deryn felt a grin coming to her face. "I forgive you. But what did Volger say?"

Suddenly, Lilit appeared behind Alek and said, "Check the grin. You're in love."

"How did you get here?" Deryn asked, surprised.

Alek turned around, thinking someone was behind him, but no one was there. "Are you alright, Deryn?" he asked.

"Aye, it's nothing," Deryn replied hastily. But Lilit appeared again, smirking.

"Oh, Mr. Sharp, I am but a figment of your imagination," Lilit smiled and poked Deryn on the nose. "But what is not a figment of your imagination is the fact that your heart is doing flips right now. Read my lips: You're in love."

"You're way off base!" Deryn exclaimed. "Get off my case!"

"Funny. It rhymes," Lilit chuckled. "Don't let your pride cloud your judgement. At that rate, you won't be able to experience one of the best things the world has to offer." Deryn rolled her eyes, but the-figment-of-her-imagination Lilit kept on talking. "Being in love is the greatest thing that can happen to you. Don't let Alek slip away from your fingers, because you'll end up feeling regret once he ends up with someone else." Lilit then said in a whisper, "Don't be proud, Mr. Sharp. It's okay to be in love." With those words, the-figment-of-her-imagination Lilit disappeared, leaving her and Alek alone.

The daft prince whom she hated to love was looking at her with an amused expression, his green eyes twinkling like the stars. "Are you really sure you're alright?" he asked.

"Of course, you daft prince. It's just that I thought I saw Lilit behind you. I must be hallucinating. But back to the point, what did Volger say?"

Alek smiled, extended his hand to her and said, "I think we should talk about it somewhere more private. Think we can go to the rat lines?"

"Well, luckily," Deryn said, taking Alek's hand. "You're with a decorated officer."

They both made their way to the rat lines, and enjoyed the view of the millions of stars above the ocean. The cold air hit them, so they huddled close.

"You were saying?" Deryn began.

"Volger basically made me realize a few things," Alek replied with a shake of his head. "Quite embarrassing, really, which was why I stormed out, fuming."

"What few things?"

Alek pulled out a rose from his jacket pocket and gave it to Deryn. "I like to think of you as this rose. Beautiful with a slight attitude. You know, the thorns." Deryn didn't know what to say. She couldn't even think. Alek continued, trying to redeem himself. "Anyway, it's kind of like, I want to say you're my rose. Well, not my rose yet. But maybe in the future or-"

"Alek?" Deryn interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Wha-?" The girl pulled his jacket and next thing Alek knew, Deryn was kissing him. But as quick as it came, it was suddenly gone.

Deryn stood up, smiled at Alek, and said, "Good night, daft Prince." With that, she went back into the ship, leaving an astonished Alek. As she walked down the hall, she went back to what Bovril, Volger, and the-figment-of-her-imagination Lilit had said. She is in love. She's never been more sure about it her whole life. But this happened too quick, and she's still standing by what she said earlier.

For now, Deryn won't say she's in love out loud. Maybe when the time is right, she'll say it. Not to Bovril, Volger, and the-figment-of-her-imagination Lilit (who would probably know that by now), but to Alek, the daft Prince she knows and loves.

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Good? Bad? Terrible? This is my first fanfic in this fandom, so let me know what ya think!


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